Content Channels

User Actions

Chef Brings Noma's Seasonality to Maine

by Joanne Camas

on 03/19/14 at 01:17 PM

The simple, seasonal, respectful approach to food in Scandinavia drew Chef David Levi to work at Noma in Denmark and Fäviken in Sweden. "New Nordic food is really born out of Noma," he says, adding that the restaurant epitomizes what he loves about food. "I had for years been foraging and falling so in love with wild foods and their diversity of flavors and textures."

Levi says his time cooking in Scandinavia fused with his natural desire to eat sustainably, locally, and seasonally, and ultimately resulted in his own restaurant: Vinland, in Portland, Maine. Even the name has Nordic roots--it's the Vikings' name for the northern east coast region of the U.S.

Vinland's mission statement pulls no punches. "The primary goal of any acceptable food system must the betterment of the total community," is one of its tenets, and Levi takes that seriously. He sources everything locally, and if it's not produced locally, he doesn't serve it: "It forces me to be that much more creative," he says with a smile.

What's local? Well, he can't specify a radius. "It's how far I think it's appropriate to reach for that food," Levi says. As an example he mentions the salt he uses at Vinland. "We get Sea Change salt from Lubec, one of only two saltmakers in the state. It's five hours' drive, but it's an economically depressed town. We are in it together."

The sous chef plates a dish.

He'll support local producers, and says that while most of his dairy and other staples come from within 30 to 40 miles, he does go farther afield for shelf-stable items. He refuses to buy cane sugar because of "the terrible conditions for those workers"--instead he sources maple sugar as his staple. "We're paying a lot more for basic ingredients than our competitors," he adds.

Most of Vinland's ingredients are organic, though not all are certified. Levi says he doesn't buy food that's been sprayed with chemicals, and seeks out produce grown according to organic principles.

The restaurant opened in January, and the first challenge for Levi and his team was how to cook seasonally when they hadn't had a summer and fall to preserve and freeze produce.

Since Portland's a coastal town, one thing you'll always see on the menu is fresh, quality seafood. "I love seafood," says Levi. "My dad's side of the family is Venetian, so it's in my blood. We're always going to have good seafood, celebrating what's unique about the place."

Although Levi is a New Yorker by birth, he's happy to have put down roots in Maine. An ex-girlfriend introduced him to the state, "and I fell in love with the place," he explains, adding that he often returned to the region to tromp the hills and find peace to write poetry--his other creative love.

So why did Portland, Maine, present itself as the natural location for his first restaurant? "I was really and truly burned out on New York," he says. "Portland is a cosmopolitan, progressive city on a smaller scale. It felt like home."

That cosmopolitan vibe is clear in his choice of local restaurants for those rare occasions when he has time to eat out.

"On Sunday I had a terrific meal at Piccolo, an Italian restaurant with two very accomplished chefs from New York City. It's a tiny, cozy little place." He also loves Miyake for Japanese food, and Thai specialties at Boda. Fore Street is another favorite.